Veneer wood is generally known in the furniture and flooring industries as a thin decorative covering of fine wood applied to a coarser wood or other material. Veneer wood is typically a fine, or very thin slice of wood which provides a desirable appearance for furniture or flooring while minimizing the amount of wood necessary for the achieving the desired aesthetic effect. In essence, the veneer wood covers only the very top layer of a piece of furniture or flooring in order to provide a pleasing visual appearance; the layers beneath the veneer may be of a less expensive wood product, such as engineered wood.
There are a variety of ways in which decorative veneer wood may be manufactured. Generally, veneer is manufactured through a process which utilizes an engineered wood base, such as plywood, fiberwood, particle board and the like and affixes a thin decorative layer of veneer wood on top, usually through the use of an adhesive.
One of the primary advantages of using veneer wood over traditional solid hardwood is stability. While flooring or furniture manufactured from a solid piece of hardwood may be prone to warping and/or splitting, veneer is not as susceptible to such problems because it is made of a thin layer of wood over a more stable core, such as thin layers of wood glued together, thereby reducing the chances of warping, splitting or cracking. Additionally, the use of adhesives or other fillers serve to provide additional strength to the overall veneer wood product, making the resulting product stronger than natural hardwood.
Traditionally, the thin decorative layer of veneer is cut (whether by peeling, slicing, rotary cutting or otherwise) from the logs or boards of various species of trees, in order to achieve varying aesthetic effects. However, despite the apparent cost cutting measures associated with the utilization of veneer wood generally, some manufacturers have sought to cut costs further by utilizing an artificially generated pattern printed on paper. Thus, rather than using a thin slice of veneer wood on a plywood base, the decorative “veneer” layer is instead created from a computer generated pattern.
While veneer panels manufactured from computer generated patterns may be more cost-effective, they have less wear resistance and are more susceptible to damage, including damage from scratches, scrapes, scuffs, and the like. In particular, use of this type of veneer wood for flooring may lead to more noticeable aesthetic abrasions over time, thus significantly detracting from the overall aesthetic appeal of the flooring. Additionally, veneer wood manufactured in such a manner does not provide a textured “feel” and instead suffers from a generally smooth and softer surface when compared to veneer wood sliced from genuine hardwood. The smooth, softer surface of such artificial wood products may contribute to a lesser amount of perceived quality by the consumer. Additionally, such deficiencies may lead to a generally more slippery surface which may create safety issues and concerns.
The presently available methods for manufacturing veneer wood are thus unable to provide for veneers with certain compositions which may lead to increased hardness, wear resistance, and longevity, while also minimizing the amount of pollutants released into environment as a result of the manufacturing process.